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Land north of Droitwich Road, Fernhill Heath: the provision of a new public open space Feasibility study, masterplan and business case Invitation to Tender June 2020 Land north of Droitwich Road, Fernhill Heath: provision of a new public open space Invitation to Tender Feasibility study, masterplan and business case June 2020 Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Background to North Claines Parish Council and the Parish 1.2 Background to the Project 2 Tender Information 2.1 Purpose 2.2 Indicative Methodology 2.3 Timescales 2.4 Governance 2.5 Outputs 2.6 Tender Submission Requirements 2.7 Evaluation and Assessment 2.8 Indicative Budget 2.9 Deadlines for Tender Submissions 2.10 Further Information and Enquiries Appendix A Site Location Plan Page | 2 Land north of Droitwich Road, Fernhill Heath: provision of a new public open space Invitation to Tender Feasibility study, masterplan and business case June 2020 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to North Claines Parish Council and the Parish North Claines Parish Council is a civil local authority, within the loWest tier of local government, located Within the District of Wychavon. The Parish, Which covers some 3,403 acres (1,377ha) or 5.3 square miles, is located immediately adjoining the northern boundary of the City of Worcester. It is some 2.5 miles Wide in an east-west direction and 1.4 miles long in a north-south direction. Although Within very close proximity to the City the Parish has a distinctively rural character With undulating farmland with hedgeroWs and copses. The principle village in the Parish is Fernhill Heath Which has a population of 3,256 (2011 Census). This represents 92.5% of the population Within the Parish. The remainder of the population live in the hamlets of Bevere, LoWer ToWn and HaWford and isolated farmsteads. Fernhill Heath is predominantly residential although it contains a small level of amenities including a first school and tWo private schools. There are a limited number of small outdoor community facilities freely accessible to the public within Fernhill Heath including: • the ‘Brum’ on the DroitWich Road includes an equipped children’s play area and open space; • Agatha Gardens green space; and • Teasal Way green space. There are three new small public open spaces being or to be provided as part of neW development adjacent to Fernhill Heath: 1. ‘The Shires’ on Dilmore Lane; 2. ‘Heath MeadoW’ on DroitWich Road; and 3. Worcestershire Hunt Kennels site, Kennels Lane. There has also been public open space provision within new housing developments in Bevere on the Western side of the Parish. Parish Councils have the power to tax their residents through the ‘precept’, via the Council Tax, to support their operations and to carry out local projects. They (within reason and Where possible) provide local services – i.e. children’s play areas, maintenance of closed churchyards, control of litter, clearance of ditches, etc. Subject to County Council consent they also oversee other local services such as the provision of bus shelters, lighting of footpaths, signposting of footpaths, etc. In addition, Parish Council’s also obtain funding through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), the NeW Homes Bonus (NHB) and ‘S106’ agreements from neW development. North Claines Parish Council has a ‘made’ Neighbourhood Development Plan (April 2017) and as such is entitled to receive 25% of any CIL monies from the date the NDP Was made. There has been significant amount of housing development granted and started Within the Parish over recent years. Monies from these developments has enabled the Parish Council to pursue one of its most ambitious projects, the provision of a neW public open space for the Parish. Page | 3 Land north of Droitwich Road, Fernhill Heath: provision of a new public open space Invitation to Tender Feasibility study, masterplan and business case June 2020 1.2 Background to the Project Three adjacent and adjoining lots of land, to the east of Fernhill Heath and to the north of DroitWich Road, measuring 9.07ha (22.41acres) came up for sale in early 2019. In April 2019, the Parish Council decided to pursue the purchase of this land (minute 12 of 1 April 2019 Parish Council meeting). On 30 August 2019, the Parish Council purchased Lots 2 and 3 Which measure 2.78ha (6.87 acres) and 2.74ha (6.78acres) respectively. The site location plan is shoWn at Appendix A. The land is currently designated as Green Belt and was most recently used for agriculture. The land is relatively flat With a high point in the south West corner of just over 45m AOD falling to around 35m AOD on the northern boundary. The northern boundary is formed by Martin Brook Which flows, at this point, in a Westerly direction. The Brook is flanked by woodland and scrub. The western boundary is formed by a hedgerow Which connects With the Woodland at the northern boundary. Beyond the hedgerow is a further field Which formed Plot 1 of the land sale and is in private ownership. The eastern boundary is also formed by a hedgeroW Which again connects with the woodland on the northern boundary. Beyond the hedgerow is land in agricultural use possibly belonging to Martin Court. This land is outWith the North Claines Parish boundary. The southern boundary is formed by the A38 Droitwich Road. There is a hedgerow along this boundary with some breaks particularly towards the western boundary. The hedgerow sits immediately adjacent to the pavement Which runs along the entire length of the A38 adjacent to the site. ToWards the eastern end of the southern boundary the site moves away from the road and a Wide highway verge is formed Which includes a drainage ditch. The southWestern part of the boundary is formed With the residential garden to Fernhill Heath House Which, along With its Wall and gate piers, is Grade II Listed. There are two access points off the A38 into the site. The principle one appears to be that to the east Which runs across the Wide highWay verge. The second access, formed by a gate, Would appear to be a secondary access and is towards the centre of the site. This is located adjacent to the pond Which is to the rear of the old gatehouse on Old Drive. This access is close to 30 mile per hour speed zone and the road markings for the right-hand filter turn for vehicles coming from the West entering West Mercia Police Headquarters at Hindlip Hall via Old Drive. There is a public footpath, NC-560, bisecting the site. This is located towards the eastern side of the site and runs from the A38 to Martin Brook connecting With public footpath MH-522. It is understood there are also informal footpaths along Martin Brook. The nearest bus stop is adjacent to the Cedars supported living housing on the A38 which is some 350m to the west from the first access point into the site. The site is located within Flood Zone 1 according to the Government’s flood maps for planning. Adjacent the southern boundary of the site is the Grade II listed lodge to Hindlip Hall on Old Drive. The gate and gate piers are also Grade II listed. A number of buildings within Martin Court to the north of the site are also listed. However, the woodland along Martin Brook screens the site from these buildings. As stated above the land is designated as Green Belt Within the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) (adopted February 2016) and the North Claines Neighbourhood Plan (NCNP) (made April 2017). Other relevant designations, taken Page | 4 Land north of Droitwich Road, Fernhill Heath: provision of a new public open space Invitation to Tender Feasibility study, masterplan and business case June 2020 from the SWDP Interactive Map, that are relevant to the site from these documents include: SWDP • Minerals Safeguarding Area/Minerals Consultation Zone for Sand & Gravel • Green Infrastructure (Protect & Restore) • Areas Susceptible to Surface Water Flooding (1 in 200-year rainfall event) – areas adjacent to Martin Brook • Heavy Goods Vehicles Route Network – A38 NCNP • Local Heritage Area – Fernhill Heath • Local Nature Conservation Site – Martin Brook In January 2020, the Parish Council delivered a questionnaire on the future use of the land to residents Within the Parish. There Were 387 responses representing a 27% return rate. The questionnaire put forward 13 potential uses that could be accommodated on the land and asked respondents to state Whether they ‘strongly agreed’, ‘agreed’, had ‘no opinion’, ‘disagreed’ or ‘strongly disagreed’ to that use. The responses in descending order from the most popular (i.e. strongly agree/agree’) to the least popular (i.e. ‘disagree/strongly disagree’) were: 1. Circular Track 2. Wetland and WildfloWer area 3. Community Garden 4. Grassy Areas 5. Parking Facility 6. Seating and Picnic Area 7. Forest School Area 8. Multi Use Games Area 9. Community Orchard 10. Playground 11. Village Hall 12. Football Pitch 13. Skate Park Many of these uses are not mutually exclusive and could be provided on the land. Additional ideas were put forward such as toilets, community cafe, ice cream parlour, swimming pool and a fishing lake. However, these numbered under 10 responses each. In june 2020, Parish Councillors provided their vieWs on the future use of the land. The main ‘principles’ for the land include: • Proposals should be designed, developed and delivered by the local community in a phased manner dependent on funding and support; • Proposals should be considered in the context of existing provision within the Parish and surrounding area and, the needs and requests expressed by the local community;

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